About INS Triput:

• It is the first indigenously built Talwar-class frigate.
• Project:
  • In October 2016, India and Russia signed a dealto buy four stealth frigates of the Admiral Grigorovich class (also known as Project 1135.6 class).
  • Two of these frigates, 'Tushil' and 'Tamal', will be directly imported, and the remaining two frigates will be built in India by GSL through a transfer of technology (ToT).
  • Triput is the first ship built by GSL under this. The second frigate, 'Tamal', will be delivered by February 2025.
• The Indian Navy already operates six ships of this class: INS Talwar, INS Trishul, INS Tabar, INS Teg, INS Tarkash, and INS Trikand.
• Features of INS Triput:
  • The 124-m-long and 15.5-m-wide ship is propelled by four gas turbines which are designed to achieve a maximum speed of 28 Knots at a displacement of approx. 3200 tons.
  • It features a hull design that reduces radar cross-section, contributing to their stealth capabilities.
  • The ship is being fitted with a potent combination of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, an Integrated Platform and Bridge Management System, and a host of other advanced features.
  • The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around vertical launch long range Surface to Air missile system.
  • Further, the ship has been fitted with indigenous power generation and distribution system, AC, Steering System and Stabilisers designed and developed by private industry.
  • It is armed with the Russian-made Klub-N anti-ship missiles or BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

Q1: What is BrahMos?

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, sea, and air. It has been developed by Brahmos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. It is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage, which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet, or second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in the cruise phase. It is one of the fastest cruise missiles currently operationally deployed, with a speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly three times more than the speed of sound.

Source: Goa Shipyard Launches Advanced Talwar-Class Frigate 'Triput' As Russia Prepares To Deliver First Ship 'Tushil' In September

About Lokmanya Tilak:

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, commonly known as Lokmanya Tilak, was a prominent Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader during the Indian independence movement.
• He was one of the prime architects of modern India and probably the strongest advocate of Swaraj, or Self Rule for India. 
• He is known for his slogan, "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it."
• He was born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, and his followers bequeathed upon him the title of ‘Lokmanya’, meaning he who is revered by the people.
• Extremist:
  • He was considered aradical Nationalist.
  • The British Government termed him the "Father of Indian Unrest".
• Organisations:
  • He joined the Indian National Congress Party in 1890.
  • He also helped found the All India Home Rule League in 1916–18 with G. S. Khaparde and Annie Besant. 
  • Tilak started his Home Rule League in Maharashtra, Central Provinces, and Karnataka and Berar region.
  • Besant's League was active in the rest of India.
  • It aimed to advocate for self-rule and raise public awareness about India's right to govern itself.
• Literary works:
  • Tilak was a prolific writer and journalist.
  • He used his newspaper, "Kesari" (meaning Lion) in Marathi and later "Maratha" in English, to disseminate nationalist ideas.
  • Some of his notable literary works include "The Arctic Home in the Vedas," where he presented his theory that the Vedas originated in the Arctic region, and "Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya," an interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita from a nationalist perspective.
• Educationist:
  • Tilak believed in the power of education and established the Deccan Education Society in Pune in 1884.
  • The society founded Fergusson College and the New English School, which played crucial roles in promoting modern education in Maharashtra.
  • Tilak taught mathematics at Fergusson College.
• Social Reform: Lokmanya Tilak was also an advocate of social reform. He actively supported the eradication of social evils like untouchability and child marriage and promoted education for women.
• Lal-Bal-Pal: He had popular leaders such as Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Raias his political companions, and the three were popularly known as the ‘Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate.’
• Imprisonments: He was arrested for sedition on multiple occasions. His most prolonged incarceration lasted from 1908 to 1914, during which he wrote the famous book "Gita Rahasya" (The Secret of the Bhagavad Gita).
• In 1916, he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle.

Q1: What was the Home Rule Movement?

The Home Rule Movement in India marked a crucial milestone in the liberation struggle. It was India’s response to the First World War. From 1916 to 1918, the movement gained momentum throughout the country. Prominent leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, G.S. Khaparde, Sir S. Subramania Iyer, Joseph Baptista, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah came together. They recognised the need for a year-round national alliance. Their primary objective was to demand self-government or home rule for the entirety of India within the framework of the British Commonwealth. This alliance was to be known as the All India Home Rule League, drawing inspiration from the Irish Home Rule League.

Source: PM Modi pays tribute to Lokmanya Tilak on birth anniversary

About Sangameswara Temple:

• It is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Nandyal district. Andhra Pradesh.
• It is located on the Krishna River bank.
• It was built in 740 AD by Chalukya ruler Pulakesi II.
• The temple was originally located at the point where Tungabhadra and Krishna Rivers were merged, 10 km away from the current site.
• The temple was dismantled and built exactly rock-to-rock in the current site in 1979, as the original site was getting submerged due to the construction of Srisailam Dam.
• Features:
  • Built in Nagara style, the temple is built on an elevated platform with a fortified wall around the temple. 
  • The temple has a large hall with 12 pillars, followed by the sanctum.
  • There is a circumambulatory path around the sanctum for pradakshinas.
  • The ceiling has a large relief of Nagaraja, as seen in other Chalukya temples. 
  • The pillars in the hall have nicely engraved images of Lord Vishnu, Brahma, and Kumaraswarmy, and celestial couple.
  • All four corners of the temple have crocodile carvings. 

Q1: Which are the major tributaries of Krishna River?

The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi.

Source: Sangameswara shrine submerges in Krishna river

About Tinzaparin: 

• It is a drug used to treat serious blood clots, and can reduce damage to cells due to spitting cobra venom.
• It is a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) with antithrombotic properties.
• It is used for the treatment of deep venous thrombosis, a condition in which harmful blood clots form in the blood vessels of the legs. 

Highlights of the research

• Tanzaparin worked by blocking the interaction between the venom and its receptor in the cell by binding to venom molecules.
• Snake Venom’s toxicity depended on the biological pathway that synthesised heparan sulphate, artificially stopping this pathway could ameliorate the venom’s toxic effects.
• One way of doing so is to introduce molecules that closely resemble heparan sulphate. As the body senses an excess of these molecules, it shuts down the pathways responsible for heparan sulphate synthesis. One such molecule is tinzaparin.
• When the team introduced tinzaparin immediately after subjecting cells to the snake venom, the cells survived.

What is heparan sulphate?

• It is found on the surface of human and animal cells. Heparin sulfate is released from our cells when our immune systems respond to a threat.

Q1: What are Antivenoms?

These are purified antibodies against venoms or venom components. Antivenoms are produced from antibodies made by animals to injected venoms. Antivenom is the only definitive treatment for effective bites by venomous Australian snakes.

Source: Drug used to treat clots can protect against cobra venom damage

About Greenium:

• Greenium, or green-premium, refers to the savings an issuer of a green bondrealiseson the associated coupon payment because the bond is green.
• It is the amount by which the yield on the green bond is lower, compared with the conventional bond.
• Green bonds are debt instruments that fund specific projects/activities categorised as 'green' under national or international green taxonomies.
  • Such activities may include renewable energy projects, electric buses, and energy efficiency initiatives. 
• Each bond has an issuer, i.e., those who want to raise money with a promise of a regular fixed payment and investors, i.e. those who provide that money with a promise of a regular fixed income.
• The logic behind a greenium is that because of the appeal of sustainability, green bondsattract investors who are ready to forego some of their returns and accept lowerpayments (called a lower yield). 

Further, long-term green projects are associated with a reduction in both physical and financial risk. Thus, investors settle for lower returns, making green projects financially attractive for the issuers of these debt instruments.

Q1: What is Bond Yield?

A bond is a fixed-income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental) for a set period of time in return for regular interest payments. Bond Yield is the return an investor expects to receive each year over its term to maturity. It partially depends on coupon payments, which refer to the periodic interest income obtained as a reward for holding bonds.

Source: CEA on low green bonds 'greenium': Pvt investors need to walk the talk on sustainable investment

About Death Valley:

• It is a desert valley located in the southeastern part of California, United States.
• It is the lowest, hottest, and driest portion of the North American continent. 
• It covers an area of 7,800 sq. km. It is estimated that about 1,425 sq. km of the floor of the valley is located below sea level. 
• It is a rift valley or a graben that has been formed due to the sinking of a huge expanse of rock located between major block-faulted mountains running parallelly in the east and west.
• It lies intheGreat Basin to the east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the northern part of the Mojave Desert.
• The Death Valley constitutes a major part of the Death Valley National Park as well as the Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve.
• It is bounded by the Grapevine, Funeral, and the Black Mountains of the Amargosa Range on the east and the Panamint and the Cottonwood Mountains of the Panamint Range on the west.
• The Valley features a diverse landscape that includes mountain peaks, canyons, sand dunes, salt flats, badlands, and volcanic craters.
• Portions of the great salt pan that forms part of the floor of the valley are the lowest land areas of the Americas.
• Located in the heart of the Death Valley National Park is an endorheic basin known as the Badwater Basin, is the lowest area in North America.
• Highest point: Telescope Peak (3,366m) located in Panamint Range.

Q1: What is a rift valley?

A rift valley is a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift. Rift valleys are found on land and at the bottom of the ocean, where they are created by the process of seafloor spreading. Rift valleys differ from river valleys and glacial valleys in that they are created by tectonic activity and not the process of erosion.

Source: Death Valley Ultramarathon: Runners Set Off In 'Toughest Foot Race In World' - Check Pics

About Olympic Order:

• It is the highest award bestowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for outstanding contributions to the Olympic Movement.
• It was established in 1975, it replaced the Olympic Diploma of Merit and is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional merit in the cause of sport or rendered significant services to the Olympic Movement.
• The Olympic Order has three grades: gold, silver, and bronze. The gold order is reserved for heads of state and exceptional circumstances.
  • The insignia of the Olympic Order features a collar or chain with the five Olympic rings and the kotinos emblem, an olive wreath. Recipients also receive a lapel badge in the corresponding grade.
• Significance
  • The Olympic Order is a symbol of recognition for those who have made significant contributions to the Olympic Movement, promoting the ideals of unity, friendship, and fair play that the Olympics embody.
  • It is a testament to the IOC's commitment to honouring those who have advanced the cause of sport and the Olympic Movement globally.

Q1: What is the International Olympic Committee (IOC)?

It is the guardian of the Olympic Games and the leader of the Olympic Movement. A truly global organisation, it acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all Olympic stakeholders, including the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations.

Source: Abhinav Bindra bestowed with Olympic Order award by IOC

About Magnetotactic bacteria: 

• These are mostly prokaryotic organisms that arrange themselves along the earth’s magnetic field.
• These are present in freshwater and marine habitats.
• These organisms were believed to follow the magnetic field to reach places that had optimal oxygen concentration.
• These bacteria contained “novel structured particles, rich in iron” in small sacs that essentially worked as a compass.
• These magnetotactic bacteria create tiny crystals made of the iron-rich minerals magnetite or greigite. The crystals help them navigate the changing oxygen levels in the water body they reside in.
• It is believed that these microbes may represent some of Earth's earliest inhabitants.

Highlights of the research

• Researchers are inspired by the similarities between the rock varnish in Ladakh and those observed on Mars by the Perseverance rover. 
• They identified elevated concentrations of oxidized manganese (Mn4+) and carboxylic acid functionalities on the varnish surface, suggesting the presence of organic signatures.
• These findings indicate that the magnetic minerals in the rock varnish are likely biotic in origin.
• Significance: By detecting biotic signatures in rock varnish, scientists can better focus on identifying biosignatures on Mars and other celestial bodies.
• This information is crucial for future space missions, including those planned by ISRO and other space agencies, aiming to explore Mars and assess its habitability.

Q1: What is Magnetism?

It is the force exerted by magnets when they attract or repel each other. Magnetism is caused by the motion of electric charges. Every substance is made up of tiny units called atoms. Each atom has electrons, particles that carry electric charges.

Source: Ladakh’s rock varnish may help identify habitable environments in space

About Llama 3.1: 

• It is Meta’s largest ever open source AI model, and it has outperformed the likes of OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet on numerous benchmarks.
• The new Llama 3.1 models are reportedly far more complex compared to Llama 3 models.
• Features
  • It can converse in eight languages, write higher-quality computer code and solve more complex math problems than previous versions.
  • It comes with 405 billion parameters, or variables that the algorithm takes into account to generate responses to user queries.
  • The running inference (a process to train machine learning models) on Llama 3.1 405B is cost-effective as it is around 50 per cent cheaper than closed models like OpenAI’s GPT-4o.
  • Llama comes with systems like Llama Guard that can be secure against unintentional harms such as bad health advice or unintended self-replication, which he noted as major concerns.

What is an open source AI model?

• It is an artificial intelligence technology that is publicly available for both commercial and non-commercial use under several open source licences.
• It is characterised by the availability of its components to users under licences that allow them to study how the system works and inspect its components.
• These models come with datasets, ready-to-use interfaces, and prebuilt algorithms to help developers embark on their app development journey.

Q1: What is a Large Language Model (LLMs)?

A large language model (LLM) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) program that can recognize and generate text, among other tasks. LLMs are trained on huge sets of data—hence the name "large."

Source: Meta introduces Llama 3.1: What is an open-source AI model? How can it change the world?

About Green Climate Fund:

• It is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund which was set up at COP 16 held in Cancun in 2010.
• It is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• It accelerates transformative climate action in developing countries through a country-owned partnership approach and use of flexible financing solutions and climate investment expertise.
• The GCF is a legally independent institution with a fully independent secretariat headed by an Executive Secretary.
• The Secretariat, located in Songdo South Korea, began its work in December 2013. 

What is the Financing Mitigation and Adaptation Project?

• It would provide “nearly 10,000 concessional loans to MSMEs”, to promote low-emission, climate-resilient technologies.
• The FMAP programme is expected to result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of 35.3 million tonnes.

· This is the second GCF-approved project led by SIDBI. The first project is the Avaana Sustainability Fund, which helps startups access climate finance.

Q1: What is Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)?

It was set up on 2nd April, 1990, under an Act of the Indian Parliament Its purpose is to act as the principal financial institution for promotion, financing, and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, as well as for the co-ordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.

Source: SIDBI to build $1 b fund for green financing with $215 m from GCF